Posts Tagged ‘Blog’

Can you believe it, 2015. I don’t know about you but I feel like this year has just wizzed by. It has been a busy year for us as a family since leaving Kent and moving to our new home in Hampshire but I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions we have made. We’ve really settled in and both Sean and I can’t believe how well the monsters have adjusted, making lots of new friends and enjoying our new surroundings.

January 2014 I set my self a few challenges on my little blog, hoping that seeing it in black on white would keep me motivated and I’m quite proud of how much I managed to achieve.

– Close my Etsy shop.
This was definitely a good idea. It gave me so much more free time to spend with my family and friends as well as getting plenty of selfish sewing done (which I love).

– Teach Monster no1 to sew.
We didn’t manage to finish his pin wheel cushion, as he lost interest, but he did make a sea snake for a school project which was brilliant.

– Work through my crafty to do list.
Well this is quite obviously an on going challenge. I’m constantly adding new things to my list but I have managed to cross quite a few makes off along the way.

– Make my own clothes.Last August I had a bit of a reality check and realised that I needed to lose some weight and get fit again. I started following a Paleo lifestyle and trying to exercise more, which is probably one of the best things I’ve done in a long time. I’ve managed to lose 2 1/2 stone and dropped 2 dress sizes, I’ve got so much more energy and feel better in myself. Anyway, now that I’m not a blimp and actually a size I want to stay at, I figure it’s time to start making myself some clothes. The added bonus being I’ll need less fabric now that I’m smaller 😉 . To be honest I’m a little scared of this plan as I don’t really have a clue about making clothes that actually fit properly but we all have to start somewhere and thankfully my lovely sewing club buddy Rachel Pinheiro as volunteered to help me, Phew!
Thank you so much Rachel for setting me this challenge, I’ve fallen in love with dressmaking and plan on growing my handmade wardrobe through 2015. I have a couple of garments from 2014 still to share with you but thanks to the grey weather here and a case of flu I haven’t managed to photograph them yet. Once the monsters are back to school I’ll get my camera out and share them with you.

– Exercise more.Self explanatory really. The weight I’ve lost has been 90% diet so it’s time to get toning, if you’re a mum reading this you can imagine the amount of work I’ve got to do on my jelly belly lol. I’m just hoping I can crochet while on a bike at the gym, multitasking at its best right?
Another on going mission. Up until our summer holiday I was doing really well but thanks to Christmas over indulgence (stuffs another truffle in mouth) I can feel my muffin tops slowly re-emerging. On a more positive note I have joined a great Yoga class and the hubs is buying some new equipment for our home gym (garage), now all we have to do is use it!

– Blog at least once a week.
Erm, I tried my best, surely I can only continue to improve this year??

Well I don’t think I did too badly over the year do you? I’m not setting myself a list for 2015, although it has been nice to look back and see how much I’ve done. I just don’t feel like 2015 is a list kind of year. 2015 is the year to go with the flow, see what comes my way and go for anything that takes my fancy. On the sewing front I’m already signed up for a few swaps which I really enjoy, I have a dress waiting to be cut out and a mountain of Farmers Wife blocks to catch up on so for now that will keep me busy. There will be crochet, but as yet I don’t know what and I hope to try some new crafts too. Do you have any new crafts or projects planned or any to recommend?

Family wise Sean and I have both agree fitness is a high priority for us. I would like to climb a mountain this year but we both need serious training before we do it so as of Monday we’ll be hitting the gym and getting plenty of walks in. The monsters were telling us how much they want to go on more holidays and see new places so I’m sure we will cram as much travel as possible in to 2015 too. Monster no1 has become a little obsessed with Bear Grylls so at every opportunity he wants to go off on an adventure even if it is just going on his scooter to feed the ducks.

I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and New Year and hope that 2015 brings you all the excitement and happiness you deserve!

You might remember that in January I shared a bit of a to do list on my blog. Well we’re a quarter of the way through the year (wow that went fast!) so I thought it would be good to review the list.

– Close my Etsy shop
All done. I definitely have more time to sew and work through my to do lists.

– Teach Monster no1 to sew.
We haven’t had time to sit at the sewing machine together yet but I’m hoping over the Easter holidays we can finish his pin wheel cushion.

– Work through my crafty to do list.
Oh come on, as if this will ever get crossed off. Every time I finish one WIP 3 or more new projects have been added to the list, oops.

– Make my own clothes.
Now this one I’m pretty excited about! It’s not crossed off yet but I have been busy buying patterns and this weekend I’m off to London with some of my sewing club friends to buy fabric for my planned projects. It’s definitely going to be a comfy shoes and big bag kinda day out. Don’t worry I’ll be sharing my plans and purchases with you next week.

– Exercise more.
I haven’t got round to joining a gym yet but I am walking more now I know where to go for good walks in the area. The dogs love trekking through the woods, especially now the weather is starting to improve.

– Blog at least once a week
I can definitely cross this off the list. Since January I’ve made a conscious effort to post more and have enjoyed sharing my week and WIP’s, good or bad, with you. I hope you don’t feel so neglected and I promise I’ll keep it up.

I can’t really believe it but I have been writing my blog for one whole year now! I feel like its gone so quickly, but on the other hand I don’t remember life before blogging. I’m really enjoying sharing little snippets of my life with the world, even if the world isn’t that interested ha!

It took a while for me to pluck up the courage to start blogging but I would say to anyone who is contemplating it – give it a go! It’s a good way to order your thoughts, it’s more fun than a diary and a great way to meet new people (even if only virtually).

I can’t exactly give my blog a birthday present (that would be a little weird right?) so instead to celebrate I’m offering 10% off any orders placed this week in my Etsy shop, including custom orders. Just use code BDAY1 at the checkout.

I just wanted to quickly tell you about another of Lynne’s (over at Lily’s Quilts) Link ups. (yes I know my blog is starting to sound like a Lily’s Quilts fan club but tbh I don’t care!) It’s called Small Blog Meet, any blog with 50 or less followers can join the link up by writing a post about it and putting the post link on Lynnes blog here. Once you have done it visit four blogs on the link up, introduce yourself and follow the blog. Hopefully four of the bloggers will do the same to you et voila, four shiny new followers for you to entertain!

This is the link up button, make sure if you join in you add it to your blog, you can also find it on Lynne’s blog.

Morning, it is Saturday morning here, I’m laying on the sofa in my pjs while the monsters eat there breakfast writing this on iPad.

I like to catch up on my blog reads on a Sunday morning and today is no different, one of the first blogs that popped onto my screen was the lovely Lily’s Quilts. On the 1st of the month Lynne does a great link up post called Fresh Sewing Day, where she tells us all of the projects she has managed to finish for the month and allows readers to link up theirs too. Well I do like a link up it’s such a great way to find new, interesting blogs to read and hopefully make some new bloggy friends too! I also really like the idea of a monthly round up, I don’t know about you but I am a list writer, you can’t beat looking at a list of all the things you need to get done and it’s covered in ticks because you’ve managed to do it. I feel like Lynnes post is like a pretty list all covered in ticks and I like it!

Here is my ticked list, it’s not a long as I would have liked but we have been away and I’ve been busy getting Monster no1 ready for school Aarghhhhh!

Hopefully Septembers list will have more ticks, I’ve got no excuse as I will only have Monster no2 at home once Monster no1 starts big school.

As its a round up blog I thought I would also bore you with my Photo A Day photos, as new projects go I was quite pleased, I really enjoyed it and only missed two days.

I’ve enjoyed doing this so much I’m going to carry on with it, here’s Septembers list for any of you who feel the same.

You can find all the rules (there aren’t that many), instructions and the list (I do love a list!) over on Fat Mum Slims blog, she’s the mastermind behind this fun photography project. The basics are, save the list somewhere, each day you take a photo about the word for that day then share it on Twitter/Flickr/Instagram or anywhere else you want to show it off. It’s a great little reminder of what you have been up to and I find it fun to do.

So this is me being brave. I’ve been thinking about starting my own blog to record my sewing projects, successes and failures for a while now but just couldn’t bring myself to put pen to paper (or in this case finger to iPad). I’ve never written a diary but always wished I had, the problem is I’m too chatty, I’m a sharer and the thought of writing a diary seemed a little too isolated. Now a blog on the other hand is much more my style. I can say whatever I want and you lovely people (or person (thanks for reading mum!)) get to tell me I’m an idiot or you think my ideas, hopes and dreams are the same as yours.

I guess I should apologise in advance, I can ramble and go off on a tangent so if I do this please stay with me I will make sense eventually.

Right here’s the bit about me. I’m 28, happily married for 5 years to Sean. We have two gorgeous, if not a little (a lot) hyper boys.

Jack is 4 in a few days and off to school in September, I know everybody says it but the past four years have gone so quickly, it scares me that one day I’m going to wake up and he will be all grown up.

The baby of the family is Grayson, he is 18 months old and a little horror. I cannot take my eyes off him for a second, he loves to climb and do whatever he is not allowed to! Having said that both my monsters are comedians and always make Sean and I smile.

The last two members of our family are Poppy and Pluto, our dogs, they are also a little bit crazy so fit in perfectly. Pops is our 2year old Labradoodle, she is the soppiest horse/dog I have ever met. Last but not least is Pluto, he is our 1 year old Jack Russell cross Yorkshire Terrier, he can be noisy but loves cuddles oh and chasing rabbits.

I like to sew, a lot. I like buying fabric, a lot. I like talking about sewing and my husband, my mum, my dad, my sister and my friends are slowly getting bored of me. This is why I have taken the leap into blogsville, I hope you guys will enjoy reading about my projects and hopefully discussing your projects too. Another of my loves is photography, I am by no means David Bailey but I enjoy taking photos, of anything and everything, so be warned there will be lots of photos here, sometimes these will be of my family and friends or just things that make me smile.

Right, sorry for the seriously long introduction, but now it’s out of the way we can get to the good stuff. SEWING.

Over the last year I have gone from making a cushion because I couldn’t find what I wanted in a shop to selling pieces to friends and family. Over Christmas I even braved selling at a few small Christmas fairs to test the waters and making the majority of my Christmas gifts. Below are some of my completed projects.

Well I have probably over shared enough for today. Thank you for reading, I would love to hear what you think or if you have any questions or anything in particular you would like me to write about in future blogs (yes there will be more!)